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Canadian Brat Pack
The Canadian Brat Pack is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films since The Kids of Rosemont High. First mentioned in a 1985 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_(magazine) New York magazine] article, it is now usually described as the cast members of two specific films released in 1985 – The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire – although sometimes other actors are included. The "core" members are Charlotte Arnold, Samantha Munro, Shenae Grimes, Daniel Kelly, Justin Kelly, and Shanice Banton. The actors themselves were known to dislike the label. Many of their careers peaked in the middle of the 1980s but declined afterwards for various reasons. However, the films they starred in together are frequently referenced in popular culture and are regarded as some of the most influential of their time. Membership The term "Brat Pack", a play on the Rat Pack from the 1950s and 1960s, was first popularized in a 1985 New York magazine cover story, which described a group of highly successful film stars in their early twenties.[1] Writer David Blum wrote the article after witnessing several young actors (Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, and Judd Nelson) being mobbed by groupies at Los Angeles' Hard Rock Cafe.[2] The group has been characterized by the partying of members such as Robert Downey Jr., Estevez, Lowe, and Nelson.[3] However, an appearance in one or both of the ensemble casts of John Hughes' The Breakfast Club and Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire is often considered the prerequisite for being a core Brat Pack member.[4][5][6] With this criterion, the most commonly cited members include Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy.[7][8][9][10][11] Absent from most lists is Mare Winningham, the only principal member of either cast who never starred in any other films with any other cast members.[12] Estevez was cited as the "unofficial president" of the Brat Pack.[1] He and Demi Moore were once engaged. McCarthy claimed that he was never a member of the group, saying, "The media made up this sort of tribe. I don't think I've seen any of these people since we finished St. Elmo's Fire."[13] The initial New York magazine article covered a group of actors much greater than the currently understood meaning of the term "Brat Pack". For example, most of the cast members of The Outsiders were mentioned, including Tom Cruise, C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, and Ralph Macchio, none of whom starred in any other 1980s movies with any "core" Brat Packers.[1] Charlie Sheen appears in several lists - more for his family relationship to Brat Pack leader Emilio Estevez and his partying than for his collaborative film work with other members.[12] James Spader and Robert Downey, Jr. have also been considered members, and performed alongside other Brat Packers: both of them with Andrew McCarthy in Less Than Zero,[14] and Downey with Anthony Michael Hall – Weird Science and Johnny Be Good, and the cast of Saturday Night Live – and The Pick-up Artist with Molly Ringwald. Other actors who have been linked with the group include Kevin Bacon, Matthew Broderick, Jon Cryer, John Cusack, Jami Gertz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Sean Penn, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland, and Lea Thompson.[2][7][9] In her autobiography, Melissa Gilbert connects herself with the Brat Pack, as her social life centered on Estevez and Lowe (to whom she was engaged). Through frequent collaborative work, actor Harry Dean Stanton, then in his late 50s, became a mentor for the group of young actors. Films based on books Some films have been dubbed "Brat Pack movies" despite having no stars from the core membership, including 1984's Red Dawn[26] (with close contributors C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Grey,[27] Charlie Sheen, Harry Dean Stanton, Patrick Swayze, and Lea Thompson), and 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off[12] (also with Grey and Sheen in supporting roles, and starring close contributor Matthew Broderick). Many would include 1985's Weird Science, starring Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall and close contributor Robert Downey, Jr., because it was directed by John Hughes[28] and is included in a Universal Studios "Brat Pack" box set.[29] Other 1980s films, many with similar coming-of-age themes, that starred only one core Brat Pack actor with one or more close contributors include: *''WarGames'' (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Matthew Broderick *''Bad Boys'' (1983) with Ally Sheedy and Sean Penn[31] *''No Small Affair'' (1984) with Demi Moore and Jon Cryer[32] *''Heaven Help Us'' (1985) with Andrew McCarthy and Mary Stuart Masterson[33] *''One Crazy Summer'' (1986) with Demi Moore and John Cusack[34] *''Youngblood'' (1986) with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze[35] *''The Pick-up Artist'' (1987) with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr.[36] *''Less Than Zero'' (1987) with Andrew McCarthy, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, and Jami Gertz[37] *''Mannequin'' (1987) with Andrew McCarthy and James Spader[38] *''Johnny Be Good'' (1988) with Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr.[39] *''Young Guns'' (1988) with Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland[40] *''Kansas'' (1988) with Andrew McCarthy and Matt Dillon[41] *''We're No Angels'' (1989) with Demi Moore and Sean Penn[42] *''Ghost'' (1990) with Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze